Formula One World Champions who lost their lives on the track (Part 1)
It is no secret that motor racing can be brutal and spectacular at the same time. Over the past century, many aspiring young men have paid the ultimate price for pursuing their dreams in this ruthless, unforgiving arena, where death sometimes follows success at the heels.
The loss is all the more pronounced when a dazzlingly talented racer falls prey to the jaws of death when his star is shining the brightest, leaving millions of adoring fans utterly shocked and despondent. Such is the story of a handful of Formula One drivers; rare treasures, whose untimely goodbyes shook the very heart of the motor racing world. Bettor.com takes a look at some of these champions who lived and died on the tracks.
Italian born Alberto Ascari was no stranger to the Formula One music even as a toddler. The progeny of one of Italy’s great pre-war racers, Alberto Ascari would rise through the ranks to become one of the sport’s most celebrated and beloved champions. Ascari’s first foray into four-wheel racing came in 1940 when he won a Mille Miglia ride thanks to family connections with the legendary Enzo Ferrari. It was with Ferrari that Alberto went on to win back-to-back Formula One World Championships in 1952 and 1953.
The Italian driving genius made mincemeat of the opposition on both occasions, having dominated the competition for a large part of the two seasons. Following his successive title victories with Ferrari, Ascari embarked on a move to Lancia in 1954. His first year with the new team was less than impressive, largely due to the incompetence of the Lancia make. Ascari then looked with optimism towards the 1955 season, yet fate would conspire to deny him another chance of taking the world title. On May 26th, 1955, the two times world champion tragically drove to his death as he was circling the treacherous Monza circuit as part of a practice run, leaving behind a distraught wife, Mietta, and two children.
Britain’s much loved Jim Clark never lived long enough to realize his full potential. Immensely talented, the shy youth from Scotland won two world championships before death cruelly intervened to deny him any further runs at glory.
Born on March 4th, 1936, Clark defied the opposition of his reluctant parents to adopt a career in the unpredictable world of Formula. The young Scot took to racing like a duck to water, and in 1960 he inaugurated his Formula One career with Colin Chapman’s Lotus. In both 1963 and 1965, Clark ripped the competition to take the prestigious world championship trophy. His performances were no less spectacular during the intervening years, where he was denied the drivers’ title largely due to the unreliability of Chapman’s cars.
Everyone warmed the Scottish driving genius who could work the impossible out of inferior equipment. Adored by his fans and respected by his peers, Clark’s introverted demeanour set him poles apart from some of the more colourful personalities that graced the Formula One circuits in that era, most prominently legendary Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart. The cruel side of his chosen profession had always upset Jim Clark. He had given serious thoughts to retire after witnessing the ill-fated 1961 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where the death of his friend, Ferrari’s Wolfgang Von Trips and 14 onlookers, had devastated him.
After a less than smooth season in the uncompetitive Lotus of 1966, Clark contemplated a move away from Colin Chapman’s team, but finally decided to pledge his loyalty to his mentor. The Scot’s patience bore fruit, and the team gained momentum the following year. By the beginning of the 1968 season, Jim Clark had managed to emulate the record of the great Juan Fangio after clinching the 25th Grand Prix victory of his career. Few seemed to doubt Clark would also go on to match Fangio’s tally of a stunning 5 world championship title victories. Yet, fate cruelly intervened to deny the Formula One world of such a thrilling spectacle, when on April 7th, 1968, an accident resulting from a tyre failure in his Lotus at a race in Hockenheim, Germany, claimed the legendary Scots life just when he was at the peak of his career.
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